Holden Named 'Employer of Choice For Women'

[JoeT]

Praise For Promoting Women At Work

Kate Southam
21 February 2006
www.news.com.au

Ten companies have been recognised for the first time for their role in promoting women in the workplace.

They are on the annual roll call released today of organisations able to use the Employer of Choice For Women tag.

Bestowed by the Federal Government's Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency, companies must reapply each year to use the EOCFW tag in employment branding ads and on websites and are only successful if they again meet the rigorous requirements set down by the agency.

The benchmarks that organisations must meet or exceed include: number of women in senior management roles, succession plans and development programs that help women move through management ranks, paid maternity leave, accommodating women returning from maternity leave and offering part time work options at all levels.

Some of the policies introduced by EOCFW companies include:

GM Holden: The board includes four women and 24 per cent of the employees identified in the "high potential employees program" are female. Holden is also the first automotive manufacturer to introduce 14 weeks? paid maternity leave. Women on maternity leave retain company vehicle entitlements. The recruitment program was re-designed to include images of women and female apprentices speak at industry recruitment days. Employees can re-arrange their hours to take their last break at the end of the shift to allow them to leave early to pick up their children from school.



Holden Only Automotive Company Recognised In 2006 As Employer Of Choice For Women

GM Media
23 February 2006
www.media.gm.com

GM Holden has been awarded an "Employer of Choice for Women" citation for the second year in a row. This prestigious award was announced by the Federal Government's Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA).

GM Holden is one of only 116 organisations recognised in Australia this year and, according to the EOWA, the only automotive manufacturer to receive the accolade.

This influential citation is given to organisations which actively implement equal opportunity policies and programs to recognise and advance their female workforce.

GM Holden is leading the way, particularly in the manufacturing sector, by implementing a range of equal opportunity programs for women.

As part of these initiatives GM Holden established a Women's Council in January 2005 with a mission 'to drive Holden business performance and brand by championing the contribution of women'.

Women's Council President and senior engineer, Suzannah Hasnie today described the citation as a fantastic achievement for GM Holden.

"This accolade is recognition for the hard work and dedication that has gone into these programs," Ms Hasnie said.

"We set ourselves some challenging targets and as a result have achieved some outstanding outcomes."

"Thirty per cent of all new salaried hires at GM Holden in 2005 were women, up from 25% in the previous year. Of new hourly employees, 18% were women in 2005, up from 14% in 2004 which is a great result."

"This is a long term strategy and we certainly plan to continue to set the benchmark for equal opportunities in the workplace."

Some other key achievements for GM Holden in the employment of women included:

- Since the introduction of 14 weeks paid maternity leave in 2002 and the availability of flexible work options for parents returning from parental leave, return from maternity leave rates increased from 67% to over 90%.
- Of the thirteen Directors of the Board at GM Holden, five are women (38%). By comparison, the EOWA reported in 2004 that 47% of companies have no women directors and 42% have no women executive managers at all.
- A lactation room was opened in Holden's new Port Melbourne head office in June 2005 and a lactation breaks policy was implemented in April 2005.
- GM Holden is an industry partner with RMIT and the University of Sydney exploring the dual agenda of work-life flexibility and organisational effectiveness.
- An online training module has been rolled out to salaried employees covering all aspects of diversity including discrimination, harassment and bullying.

[asim]

Nice...I guess those aussie car makers love their women!

[growler]

Originally Posted by asim

Nice...I guess those aussie car makers love their women!

Only because we are told too....... What's that dear? oh no i'm not on the computer.....

[JoeT]

I know exactly what you mean.

[Bravada]

Good for Holden, I'd say. From my experience I can only say that having a balanced mix of both genders in the workplace is the best solution and teams comprising of both men and women are usually working together better and more effectively. I also prefer to work under female managers/execs, as they are usually more straightforward, organized and get along better with people.

[Mikkoo]

Over 30% of people hired in 2005 were women. Don't know the
other figures from competitors, but this seems to be a high
percentage for women working for a car company. Am I wrong?

[Gm786]

Great for them! I guess they put a lot of pride into what they do.

[JoeT]

Holden Named 'Employer Of Choice For Women' For Third Year In A Row

GM Holden Limited
1 March 2006
www.holden.com.au

GM Holden has been awarded an “Employer of Choice for Women” citation for the third year in a row.

Announced by the Federal Government’s Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA), GM Holden is one of only 131 organisations to receive this prestigious award.

This influential citation is awarded to companies that have demonstrated that they have policies and practices that support women across the organisation which have resulted in a positive outcome for both women and the business.

GM Holden is leading the way, particularly in the manufacturing sector, by implementing a range of equal opportunity initiatives for women.

GM Holden established a Women's Council in January 2005 with a mission ‘to drive Holden business performance and brand by championing the contribution of women’.

Since the introduction of the Council, GM Holden has achieved some key goals in the area of employment of women. These include:

Since the introduction of 14 weeks paid maternity leave in 2002 and the availability of flexible work options for parents returning from parental leave, return from maternity leave rates increased from 67% to over 90%.
In 2006, 24% of all new hires were women, up from 21% in 2005, this included 29% of all new salaried hires and 16% of all new hourly position hires.
GM Holden’s Women Council sponsored two full day “Women Driving GM Holden’s Business” events in 2006. Other breakfast and lunchtime events have been organized and featured high profile guest speakers.
Holden has been an industry partner in a leading edge two year “Dual Agenda” research project. Outcomes of this include the development of a part time work policy and data reports and obtaining perceptions of focus groups on women in the workplace.
A lactation breaks policy was implemented in April 2005 and a lactation room was opened in Holden’s new Port Melbourne head office in June 2005.
In addition an online training module has been rolled out to salaried employees covering all aspects of diversity including discrimination, harassment and bullying.
Women’s Council President and National Business Management Manager, Michelle Symons, described the citation as a very satisfying result and an achievement of which the whole company should be proud.

“This award is a fantastic achievement that gives recognition particularly to those dedicated members of GM Holden’s Women’s Council,” Symons said.

“Holden has continued to develop working groups that look at key areas that affect women in the workplace from recruitment, mentoring, networking and even marketing to women.

“Winning this award for the third year in a row is a sign that we are not resting on our laurels and our efforts haven’t gone unnoticed.”